The government has confirmed that apps such as Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram will all be covered by the social media ban for under-16s that the prime minister announced today.

Keir Starmer announcing social media ban for under-16s

Source: Number 10

Keir Starmer called the proposed social media ban ‘a big moment for our country’

Prime minister Keir Starmer set out plans to ban children under 16 years of age from accessing social media, saying he hopes to implement the ban by next spring.

Starmer called the proposed ban “a big moment for our country”, adding it was a “real change for our children and our future”.

He said social media is making children both unhappy and unsafe. He said: “Do we truly believe that social media created a happy environment for our children? Do we truly believe that it’s a place where they can feel safe? I don’t think I even need to answer those questions, do I?”

Since the prime minister’s announcement this morning, the government has issued additional information about the ban.

It said it will include numerous platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube and Facebook, adding that the UK “plans to use the same model for a social media ban as Australia”.

“This would capture user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction, and which allow users to post material, alongside algorithms. The ban will therefore include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X,” the government said.

“We do not intend for messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal to be included in the social media ban.”

The government also said it would encompass a “wider range of online services, including gaming sites”.

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